Ryker is officially a Missionary

On August 29 our family went to the Stake center so Ryker could meet with President Kropf and get set apart an Elder for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am excited for Ryker and know he will be a great missionary! After he was set apart he immediately put his tag on and is now officially a missionary, crazy. I took this picture in church to send to my family to show them that it is official

On August 30th Ryker started his home MTC training. His Companion is Elder Frogley from Eagle Idaho and Ryker really likes him, he says they have a lot in common and is a good guy. He also got to meet with his entire MTC district and really enjoys them all. He is ready and excited to start this journey.

While Ryker was busy learning to be a missionary I was trying to get his transcript transferred from BYU to USU and it was a pain. I finally had to call into the school to get help and he needed proof that Ryker was who he is and had me take a picture of Ryker holding his student ID then email it to him so he could finally get me the help I needed, what a pain.

 

First Day of School

First day of school and thank heavens it started out completely normal! Avynlea is a junior at Meridian High School and Rylee is a Freshman at the brand new Owyhee High School. It would have been ideal to have had them at the same school but Avynlea really wanted to finish High School at MHS with her friends and Rylee had to go to the new High School that we were zoned for. I am excited that they are able to be back at school and to get back into a routine. It should be a really great year!

Avynlea Jem 11th grade

Rylee Heather 9th grade

I found this quote when I was searching for a Harry Potter quote for my first day of school Instagram post and it really struck true to me. Time just does not slow down and I feel it more than ever this year, two kids graduated and two kids in High School, that escalated fast!

I created this tag and went around to all of the kids in my Sunday school class the night before to give them a muffin and wish them good luck at the start of this new school year. I did it in Owyhee school colors of red and gray and I am really proud as this is my first tag that I have created and I think it looks pretty cute. 

Paige posted this picture of her, Roree and Avynlea at school on their first day back and said that they tried to pose like Kindergartners. Her Mom, Amy, reposted it and I was laughing as I was reading the comments on Facebook that Paiges Dad and Grandma were leaving about Paige wearing a shirt that was too short. I screenshot the picture and added a little color to it to make her shirt a more modest length and I sent it to Amy for a laugh. She thought it was great and reposted it for Paige's Dad and Grandma. I thought I did a pretty great job, you can't even tell the difference between her shirt and the part I added.

 

Wednesday Night Lights

Wednesday night, the night before the first day of school, was Owyhee's first JV home football game. I wanted to go because Rylee's friends and girls in my Sunday school class were cheering for the first time and I wanted to go and watch and support them. Also I really like going to football games and I thought Rylee should go support her friends and her school. Kenedy, Avynlea and Rylee all came and we had a good time watching the cheerleaders and Owyhee JV vs Centennial. 

 

Saylor, Ella, Rylee and Tayci

Ryker's Missionary Farewell Talk

Ryker gave his farewell talk in our ward on August 22. The list of people who were there are...

Bob and Alison

Jeremy and family

Bailey and Makayla

Kelsey and Family

Mikell and Family

Whitney and Family

Trevor

Kylie and Family

Lana Hope

Cristal John

Scotlyn Gibbons and her Mom

Brad Peterson and Family

Ethan Hadley and Family

Shawn nd Elaine Josi

I know some of Ryker's friends were there but I don't know who and maybe more family and friends were there but I just don't remember or didn't see them. 

Nobody in my family of course could make it but they all were able to watch him speak on YouTube live and I am so grateful for that. Every single one of them were able to tune in and we were told that our online attendance was doubled that day. I love my family and am so grateful for the support they gave from afar, it really meant a lot to me and Ryker. Heather screenshot a picture of Ryker giving his talk and we had some of Rykers cousins sing a musical number and she took a screenshot of them also.

Ryker did such a great job on his talk, he was assigned to speak on how Christ ministers to us and he nailed it. I put a copy of his talk at the end of this post.

The accident he is talking about happened Thursday night. He and Rylee went to the bike park in Eagle to ride around and while they were gone Kefford and I were upstairs watching aTV. I left my phone downstairs and when I went downstairs to get ready for bed I looked at my phone and saw I missed a couple of calls from Ryker. I called his phone and Rylee answered in a panic saying that Ryker got in an accident and it seemed pretty bad. I immediately called up to Kefford and told him we needed to leave immediately. As we were getting our shoes on Brother Chidester rang the doorbell to tell us that Rylee had called him when she couldn't get ahold of us and he wanted to make sure we knew what happened. We got to the park and Ryker was doing better by then. He was doing a jump and misjudged the landing and crashed off the bike landing on his head. Before they left Kefford had the inspiration that they needed to be wearing helmets and borrowed some from Jason and Erika Lish. I am so grateful he was in tune because Ryker could have been a lot worse off. He was disoriented after his crash and couldn't remember anything that happened and kept asking Rylee the same questions which is why she was so freaked out. By the time we got there he was doing better and we brought him home. Kefford called an ER Dr that is in our ward to tell him what happened and ask his advice. He told us it sounded like he was ok but he could have a concussion so we were told to keep an eye on him. He also said to keep him awake for 4-5 hours. I stayed up with Ryker to keep an eye on him and ended up falling asleep on the couch while he watched movies. At about 2:30. woke up, made sure he was ok and then went to bed. Kefford got up at 5 to go to Baker and upon checking on Ryker found him still awake watching movies. He made sure he was ok and then told him to get to bed. 

I am grateful for Tender Mercies and that Ryker was being watched over, we also decided we needed to wrap him in bubble wrap to keep him safe before he starts his mission. 

We originally had the idea to have Kenedy, Avynlea and Rylee sing a song for the musical number but they revolted and absolutely refused the idea. I didn't blame them I wouldn't sing in public either. Kefford then had the idea to ask his sisters to see if some of their kids would and they agreed and did such a great job singing "The Army of Helamen" one of my favorite primary songs. 

James, Sadie, Madison, Jenna, Brooke, Asher and Tayvia

Kenedy wanted a picture of herself and Ryker after church and then we went home. I contemplating inviting the family over for lunch but our ward isn't done until 11 and I didn't think any of them would want to stick around plus Kefford was in meetings and I didn't want to host his family by myself. I figured we could host a family lunch before Ryker officially left for his mission in a couple of weeks.

Jesus Christ performed many miracles during His time on Earth, such as giving sight to a blind man, healing the lepers, raising Lazarus from the dead, etc. But how does He minister to each of us personally?

First, I’d like to try and define what it means to be a minister. I tried looking this up on google and the Webster Dictionary, but I wasn’t satisfied with what I found.

Fortunately I found a much easier way to define it. I am going to tell the story of Chy Johnson, a story first told by David L. Beck during the April 2013 General conference.

---”When Chy started high school [in 2012], she became the victim of cruel and thoughtless bullying. She was mistreated, shoved, and taunted as she walked to class—some students even threw garbage at her. You have probably seen people mistreated like this in your school too.

For too many people, the teenage years are a time of loneliness and fear. It doesn’t have to be this way. Fortunately for Chy, there were young men at her school who understood what it means to minister.

Chy’s mother had asked teachers at the school to help stop the bullying, but it continued. She then contacted Carson Jones, an Aaronic Priesthood holder and the starting quarterback of the football team. She asked him to help her find out who was doing the bullying.

Carson agreed to help, but in his heart he felt that he could do much more than just identify the bullies. The Spirit whispered to him that he needed to help Chy feel loved.

Carson asked some of his teammates to join him in ministering to Chy. They invited her to sit with them during lunch. They walked her to class to make sure she was safe. Not surprisingly, with football players as her close friends, no one bullied Chy anymore.

This was an exciting season for the football team. But even with the thrill of an undefeated season, these young men did not forget about Chy. They invited her to join the team on the field after games. Chy felt loved and appreciated. She felt safe. She was happy.

The football team went on to win the state title. But something more important than a football championship happened at their school. The example of these young men has motivated other students to be more accepting, more friendly. They now treat each other with more kindness and respect.

National news media found out what these young men had done and shared their story across the country. What began as an effort to minister to one is inspiring thousands of others to do the same.

Chy’s mother calls these young men “angels in disguise.” Carson and his friends are quick to say that Chy has blessed their lives much more than they blessed hers. That’s what happens when you lose yourself in serving others—you find yourself.2 You change and grow in ways that would not be possible otherwise. These young men have experienced the joy of ministering and continue to seek opportunities to bless others. They were anxious to extend their ministering in the coming months when they could serve as full-time missionaries.

Now, this is an amazing example of how we each should minister to others and this gives us the definition we were looking for. Ministering simply means to care for others as the Savior would. So how does the Savior care for us?

The first and biggest answer to this is that He cares for us by giving us the chance to be forgiven of our sins through His Atonement. And while this blessing in of itself is incomprehensibly amazing, the Atonement also gave Him the ability to understand us completely. As Dallin H. Oaks puts it, “Our Savior feels and knows our temptations, our struggles, our heartaches, and our sufferings, for He willingly experienced them all as part of His Atonement” (Dallin H. Oaks April 2021). It is because he willingly experienced all mortal pains and infirmities that he can know how to strengthen us in our afflictions.

This is how he ministers to each of us personally. He knows us, He knows what we need and when we need it. He is quite literally, the perfect minister. We can call him anytime of the day or night and he will never be too busy to help us. On top of that, He never forgets to check up on us, whether or not we open the door to Him. But even If we don’t immediately open the door He isn’t going to sigh and say “oh well, I tried.” NO, He is going to keep knocking and knocking until we decide to let him in. Sometimes we distract ourselves from His knocking, sometimes we tell ourselves that we are just imagining it, but the truth is… He is and will always be there, waiting for us to accept Him and allow him into our lives.

I have personally felt the Savior minister to me throughout my life. In times of fear I have been given faith, courage, and hope. In times of sadness I have felt love, peace, and comfort. He has also ministered to me through others, by giving me friends and family who love me and want to support me through my trials.

I’m grateful that I will get to go to Texas to minister to the people in that area. I know that it is my calling and my privilege to represent Jesus Christ and bring others unto him. I’m also very grateful for the examples that all of you have been for me. I’ve been blessed to grow up in a great family where I was taught to serve others and strive for Christlike qualities. I’ve also been blessed with many friends all over the place who have taught me similar lessons of being true disciples of Jesus Christ. You are all inspirations to me and I am eternally grateful for each and every one of you. Even recently I have felt blessed by your loving kindness towards me. I’m sure most of you have noticed that I have a couple scratches here and there from a recent biking accident. My face actually looks a lot better than my arm. While I was not seriously injured, I appreciate those that have helped me. I thank you for your wonderful example of being ministers and I hope you all know how much I truly appreciate you.

I’m grateful I have been able to speak on this subject and that I have been able to share my testimony of how the Savior ministers to us, because as we understand the love that the Lord has for us and how He continues to minister to us no matter what, it is my hope that it will give all of us the greater desire to serve others and be ministers to all of God’s children.

Brothers and Sisters, (testimony).

As I close, I’d like to share with you the scripture that will be displayed on my missionary plaque. (Alma 29: 9-10)

I leave these things with you...

 

Student Council and Craft Boutiques

August 19 was the ribbon cutting for the new Owyhee High School. Rylee joined Student Council with her friends Ella and Tayci and because if it they had to be at the ribbon cutting early to help. I am really excited that Rylee joined Student Council, I think she is going to really enjoy the creativity she gets to use and will get to help make traditions for this new High School that will last long after she is gone. What a fun opportunity!

On August 20th I went with my friend Cristal to the Holiday House Boutique and while there they told us if we took a selfie at their selfie station and posted it tagging them that we would be entered to win $100. I took a selfie and then talked Cristal into taking one with me but I never posted it because I didn't like how I looked and also my Instagram is private and I didn't want to mess with that. 

 

Caldwell Night Rodeo

Kefford was able to get us tickets to the Caldwell Night Rodeo through Northwest Farm Credit which is the bank we use for The Barnyard stuff. Kenedy and Ryker were at the farm and the farm had tickets as well so they were coming with Jeremy and his family. Since we had an extra ticket Avynlea invited her friend Andreya to come along with us. Farm Credit was hosting a "dinner" before the rodeo which in reality was a charcuterie with meats, cheeses, fruits, veggies, chocolate and some bread. It was food and we ate it but it was a little disappointing.

They had cowboy hats that we could take as well as animal drawstring bags which were pretty cute. We all took a hat and as we were leaving and because they had so many and none of us took them I grabbed four of the bags to give to Atticus, Amos, Fred and Leona, I thought they would like them.

After we ate we went to sit down and watch the rodeo. It was fun being there with family and the first hour  and a half was great to watch but then it just kind of drug on and I was just wishing for it to be over, I was so tired. I had a really great time though and would do it again.

Kefford and I tried to get a picture and the first one I had my sunglasses on so I took them off and we tried again. by this time my girls, who were sitting behind us, saw we were taking a picture and tried to get in it. I didn't want them in the picture so Kefford and I did some maneuvering so it was just us. hahaha

The kids took their own pictures so don't feel too bad for them not being able to be in ours;)

top left: Kenedy, Rylee and Avynlea

top right: Kenedy and Mikayla

bottom left: Kenedy and Rylee

bottom right: Kenedy and Amelia

Kenedy took this picture of me and I kind of like it, not too shabby

Mikayla, Rylee, Kenedy, Avynlea, Ally and Andreya

When the sun went down it started to get cold and Avynlea and Dreya did not bring jackets so they borrowed Michelle's nursing cover and put it around themselves to keep warm....hahahaha

Peterson Family 2021